Get ready for some Pop Montreal reviews. Even though I was only there for the first two days of the festival, I was able to check out some quality shows and get a feel for what the festival was all about, kind of.
My trip started off in Toronto by meeting two dudes on Yonge Street to share a ride to Montreal. Horary for Craigslist rideshare!! My two new buddies and I made the trip to Montreal in just over 5 hours. Arriving safe and sound my spirits were high after meeting up with two strangers and enjoying some pleasant conversation without being touched in my icky place.
After grabbing my press pass and my drink tickets I quickly started trying to sort through the shows. As previewed earlier, The Phenomenal Handclap Band were playing on Wednesday night at Le National. Their band write-up in the program read as follows:
“…Like Broken Social Scene but with better harmonies and more awesome hippiness.”
Really? Anybody who knows me knows that I have been listening to BSS since 1991. Back then they were known only as Scene because they hadn’t been broken yet. To compare your New York band to BSS is a pretty tall order. So I went to the show to judge for myself.
TPHB were playing at Le National. It is kind of like a cross between the Mod Club and the Phoenix, but with a slanted floor, which really helps us out who tend to hang out at the back. The sloped floor was not needed on this night as the audience was thin.
TPHB are an 8 piece band who know how to groove and shake a tambourine.
Their song, 15 to 20 has been in my head for the past week. It reminds me of the first time I heard The Go Team. It has that catchy, hookey, dancy vibe to it. It is anthum-isk. Ricky posted the video HERE a few days ago. The rest of their songs were very clappy with a strong emphasis on the tambourines. As for their comparison to Broken Social Scene, well, they seem like a dance and groove band who want to be cool like Broken Social Scene, but arn’t quite there yet. I don’t see it. If I was TPHB, I would contact my publicist and change the band bio. As for their performance, I wouldn’t call it phenomenal, but it was pretty close to phenomenal. Once I got over the whole BSS thing, I was able to hang low and enjoy the show. It was really fun and a great fist show to kick off Pop.
The Phenomenal Handclap Band visit Toronto on November 6th with Simian Mobile Disco at the Mod Club. Worth checking out. I’m gonna go see them again, hopefully the venue will be packed and I’ll be able to get the full TPHB party experience.